The present invention relates to a lever-type electrical connector.
Conventionally, when a connector such as a multi-polar connector has a high fitting force, this fitting force is provided by means of a lever.
This lever-type connector has, for example, a configuration whereby a male housing is provided with cam grooves on a lever pivoted on the male housing, and a corresponding female housing is provided with follower pins which can be inserted into the cam grooves. The two housings can be fitted together when the lever is in a starting position, and the follower pins are fitted into openings of the cam grooves. When the lever is pivoted, the follower pins move within these cam grooves, this drawing the two housings together and causing them to be fully fitted. That is, this lever is operated so as to fit the two housings together using a low application force.
An example of this type of lever-type connector is described in JP 6-275337.
In this type of lever-type connector, in which the two connector housings are fitted together by pivoting the lever to an end position, the fitting causes mutually facing male and female terminal fittings to be joined correctly together. However, it is difficult to judge merely by observation whether the lever has been moved correctly to the end position, and this judgement may be unreliable. In order to deal with this problem, fitting detection using electrical means has been employed. However, this method increases costs.
The present invention has taken the above problem into consideration, and aims to present a lever-type connector wherein one can simply and reliably determine whether two connectors have been correctly fitted together.
According to the invention there is provided a lever-type connector assembly comprising a pair of mutually engageable connectors, a lever pivotably supported on one of the connectors and defining a cam, and the other of said connectors defining a follower engageable with said cam such that pivoting of said lever to an end position draws said connectors fully together, wherein said lever and said one of said connectors include markers, said markers being aligned in the end position of said lever. Preferably said markers are in the form of protruding ribs which are aligned lengthwise in the end position. Alignment of such ribs can be observed from three mutually different directions.
The ribs may be of equal thickness and equal height so as to be flush in the end position. Alternatively one rib may have a different height or thickness to another in order to allow both ribs of an aligned pair to be observed. In this case, the outer rib, considering the direction of viewing, should be of reduced thickness or of reduced height so as not to mask the inner rib.